[governance] news from Baku

Sat Jun 23 13:20:09 EDT 2012

AYE
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--- En date de : Sam 23.6.12, Narine Khachatryan <ms.narine.khachatryan at gmail.com> a écrit :

De: Narine Khachatryan <ms.narine.khachatryan at gmail.com>
Objet: Re: Re: [governance] news from Baku
À: sonigituekpe at crossriverstate.gov.ng
Cc: governance at lists.igcaucus.org, "Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro" <salanieta.tamanikaiwaimaro at gmail.com>, "Jean-Louis FULLSACK" <jlfullsack at orange.fr>
Date: Samedi 23 juin 2012, 9h13

AYE

On Sat, Jun 23, 2012 at 8:35 AM, Sonigitu Ekpe <sonigituekpe at crossriverstate.gov.ng> wrote:

AYE-- 
Sonigitu Ekpe 

Project Support Officer[Agriculturist] Cross River Farm Credit Scheme Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources 

3 Barracks Road P.M.B. 1119 Calabar - Cross River State, Nigeria. 

Mobile +234 805 0232 469    Office + 234 802 751 0179 

 "LIFE is all about love and thanksgiving" 
Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro  wrote:

                I propose that we as Civil Society issue a Statement. All in favour,
say AYE and those not in favour saÿ NAY.

Feel free to give reasons if you so wish.

On 6/22/12, Narine Khachatryan <ms.narine.khachatryan at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> Recently the Azerbaijani parliament restricted the public access to
> information about the registration, ownership structure and shareholders of
> Azerbaijani corporations. Justification is to protect the privacy of Azeri

> president and his family.  Interesting. Henceforth, the general public
> would be denied such information, since it “contradicts the national
> interests of Azerbaijan".
>
> Azerbaijan: Parliament Throws Veil of Secrecy over Business Sector

>
> http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65534
> June 13, 2012 - 12:00pm, by Shahin
> Abbasov<http://www.eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/1358>

>
>
>    - Azerbaijan <http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/azerbaijan>
>    - EurasiaNet's Weekly
> Digest<http://www.eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/3279>

>
>    - Azeri Economy <http://www.eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/3864>
>    - Azeri Politics <http://www.eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/3670>

>
> Recent legislative efforts in Azerbaijan to protect the privacy of
> President Ilham Aliyev and his family are coming at the expense of
> investors, both foreign and domestic.
>
> The Azerbaijani parliament voted June 12 to restrict public access to

> information about the registration, ownership structure and shareholders of
> Azerbaijani corporations. In addition, legislators granted President Aliyev
> and his wife, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, lifetime immunity from criminal

> prosecution.
>
> The immunity provision for the Aliyevs was not unexpected: the proposal had
> been under consideration for a year. But the corporate secrecy amendment
> was added to parliament’s agenda only after the conclusion of the May

> 22-26 Eurovision
> Song Contest <http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65459>.
>
> The pop-music festival, which brought unprecedented international attention

> to Azerbaijan, was preceded by a series of articles by RFE/RL investigative
> journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who highlighted alleged conflicts of
> interest involving mining rights granted to a gold-mining

> company<http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65357>owned
> by President Aliyev’s two daughters, Leyla and Arzu, and Eurovision
> construction work <http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65389>by a company linked

> to the two Aliyevas and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, the head of
> Eurovision’s organizing committee. [Editor’s Note: Islamyilova also
> contributes to EurasiaNet].
>
> By law, officials’ relatives may own businesses, but members of parliament

> – the First Lady sits in the legislature for the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan
> Party – cannot.
>
> In public statements, government officials have asserted that such
> investigative coverage violated the presidential family’s right to

> privacy<http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62572>.
> The articles followed earlier pieces that examined the Aliyeva daughters’
> investments in telecommunications, airport operations and banking.

>
> Under the terms of the secrecy amendment, obtaining information about such
> investments now could prove more difficult. The government will release
> information about the registrations of for-profit companies only upon

> request by a court, law-enforcement agency or Central Bank monitors
> investigating suspected money-laundering or the financing of terrorist
> groups.
>
> Journalists and the general public would be denied such information if its

> distribution “contradicts the national interests of Azerbaijan in
> political, economic and monetary policy, the defense of public order, the
> health and moral values of the people and harms the commercial and other

> interests of individuals.”
>
> In addition, corporate records will be provided only if the petitioner has
> the consent of those individuals named in the data.
>
> Information about registered Azerbaijani companies’ ownership and

> shareholders previously had been publicly available on the Ministry of
> Taxes’ website. The ministry was required to provide registry details to
> citizens within a week of receipt of a written request.

>
> All but four of the 103 members of parliament present voted in favor of the
> restrictions. Another two MPs did not vote; First Lady Aliyeva was not
> present.
>
> President Aliyev is expected to sign the secrecy and immunity amendments

> into law this week.
>
> Government officials have not commented on the amendments, but one senior
> Yeni Azerbaijani Party MP who backed the new restrictions claimed the
> measure does not limit Azerbaijanis’ right to information. In June 6

> comments to the Azeri-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,
> Ali Huseynly, chair of the parliament’s Committee on Legal Policy and State
> Building, claimed that the amendment “clarifies the frameworks for the

> right to receive information.” The lack of such “frameworks” often leads to
> “violations,” Huseynly added.
>
> Parliamentarian Fazail Agamaly, a member of the pro-government Ana Vatan
> (Motherland) Party, asserted that “[j]ournalists should be satisfied with

> the information about a company provided by its owner.”
>
> “Otherwise, the release of some information could create financial problems
> for businesses,” Agamaly reasoned.
>
> Civil society and media-rights watchdogs counter that the secrecy

> amendment, indeed, is designed to prevent problems – namely, for Aliyev’s
> friends and family members.
>
> Lawyer Intigam Aliyev [no relation to the presidential family], director of
> the Legal Education Society, a Baku non-governmental organization that

> monitors legislation implementation, asserted the amendment is “a response
> of corrupt authorities to a number of articles in local and foreign media
> about the large business assets of the ruling family in Azerbaijan and

> oligarchs.”
>
> Opposition MP Igbal Aghazade, a member of the Umid (Hope) Party, who voted
> against the amendment, said the measure only “serves the idea of keeping
> information about the commercial interests of a group of high-ranking

> government officials a secret.”
>
> Restricting the availability of company data from the public can harm the
> country’s ability to fight corruption, noted Media Rights Institute
> Director Rashid Hajily. In 2011, Azerbaijan ranked 143rd out of 183

> countries in a corruption index compiled by the international watchdog
> group Transparency International.
>
> "Citizens will be deprived of public [oversight] over officials’ links with
> businesses," Hajily said. "It creates a strong foundation for the

> proliferation of conflicts of interest.”
>
> Meanwhile, activists who tried to
> highligh<http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65388>t

> Azerbaijan’s spotty civil-rights record during the Eurovision contest say
> that they will fight back against the “business secrets” amendment. “We
> will campaign both locally and internationally, will demand in public

> debates the annulment of this legislation, will raise the issue at related
> international conferences and in interviews with foreign media,” pledged
> Rasul Jafarov, head of the Human Rights Club, a Baku-based non-governmental

> organization.
> Editor's note:
>  Shahin Abbasov is a freelance reporter based in Baku.
>
> On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 1:53 PM, Jean-Louis FULLSACK
> <jlfullsack at orange.fr>wrote:

>
>> Dear members of the list
>>
>>
>>
>> latest news from Baku published by IPS
>>
>>
>>
>> Jean-Louis Fullsack
>>
>>

>> After the Curtain Call, a Crackdown Begins
>> By Shahla Sultanova <http://www.ipsnews.net/author/shahla-sultanova/>

>> Republish
>> |
>>
>> BAKU, Jun 19 2012 (IPS) - As the attention of the world faded away from
>> Azerbaijan after the recent Eurovision song contest, police began
>> targeting

>> some young activists and a journalist involved in protests here last
>> month.
>>
>> The Eurovision song contest was as much a moment of enjoyment for music
>> lovers as it was a fierce contest between the Azerbaijani government and

>> its opponents to highlight the ‘reality’ of a politically turbulent
>> country; with the former presenting a respectable image to the West, and
>> the latter struggling to expose human rights violations and government

>> suppression of basic civil liberties.
>>
>> More than ten protest rallies were organised on the eve of the contest.
>>
>> Human rights defenders and activists had anticipated a post-Eurovision

>> crackdown, when the spotlight had turned away from the country and the
>> government would be free to punish those who had dared to educate the
>> world
>> about the grave situation on the ground in Azerbaijan.

>>
>> On Jun. 6, the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), a
>> media
>> rights watchdog, was notified by the Sabail District Police Office that a
>> photo journalist named Mehman Huseynov, an IRFS member, had allegedly

>> insulted police officers during a protest on May 21.
>>
>> The district police office has now opened a criminal case against
>> Huseynov
>> under Article 221.2.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.

>> If
>> found guilty, Huseynov will face five years in prison.
>>
>> Huseynov (23), said the accusation is related to his work, which for many
>> years has entailed photographing events that depict government

>> wrongdoings
>> and disseminating them via social media.
>>
>> Several months prior to Eurovision, Huseynov actively joined the Sing for
>> Democracy Campaign.
>>
>> “I was media coordinator within the campaign. My photos and videos were

>> shared in international media.  Of course, they showed the reality of
>> Azerbaijan, (which) is unfortunately not very positive. That is why I am
>> a
>> target now,” he told IPS.
>>

>> Over 30 human rights organisations joined Sing for Democracy in an effort
>> to pressure organisers of the contest to demand greater democracy in
>> Azerbaijan.
>>
>> The campaign called for the release of political prisoners, freedom of

>> expression and assembly, protection of property rights and the
>> independence
>> of courts.
>>
>> IRFS head Emin Huseynov, Mehman Huseynov’s older brother, links the
>> accusation against the latter with his profession. “It is the start of

>> the
>> post-Eurovision crackdown. It is revenge against the IRFS for actively
>> informing foreign journalists and international media on the eve of
>> Eurovision about many harassment cases in Azerbaijan. Besides, during

>> seven
>> years of work, we investigated many cases of pressure on journalists.
>> Now,
>> they want to punish us.”
>>
>> Before the song contest, Leyla Yunus, director of the Institute of Peace

>> and Democracy, had often warned of a serious backlash after the
>> Eurovision-fuelled tourist season died down. She believes Mehman Huseynov
>> is the first victim of that campaign.
>>

>> “Mehman’s work has been shared and discussed recently. Besides, he is
>> working for IRFS, which is critical of the government. By arresting him
>> they want to (blacklist) a good photo journalist and put pressure on his

>> brother Emin.”
>>
>> Various other activists were also brought into police stations this week.
>>
>> Beyim Hasanli, a member of the opposition Popular Front Party’s Youth
>> Committee was called in to the Sebayil district police station on Jun. 9.

>>
>> She was asked how she got information about the May 21 protest action and
>> why she attended it. Hasanli was also asked if she ever noticed a media
>> representative being rude to the police.

>>  Related IPS Articles
>>
>>    - Sex and Censorship in
>> Azerbaijan<http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/05/sex-and-censorship-in-azerbaijan/>

>>    - Arab Spring at Azerbaijan’s
>> Door<http://ipsnews.net/2011/04/arab-spring-at-azerbaijanrsquos-door>

>>    - Azerbaijan and Israel: The Enemy of My Enemy Is My
>> Friend<http://ipsnews.net/2012/02/azerbaijan-and-israel-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend>

>>
>>  “After that they showed me a video in which I was trying to help a woman
>> dragged by police. There were many journalists, including Mehman, who
>> tried
>> to film it but police would not let them do so. It also showed Mehman

>> (swearing) when he was not allowed to film.”
>>
>> After that Hasanli was asked to write a report on what she saw on video.
>>
>> A week ago, her father was called in to the Absheron district Main Police

>> Office and asked to sign a statement promising to be responsible for his
>> daughter’s activities.
>>
>> Hasanli claims all this was done to intimidate and discourage her from
>> being an activist.

>>
>> Natig Adilov, a journalist with the opposition Azadlig newspaper and
>> activist with the Popular Front Party, was called in to the Sabirabad
>> police station on Jun. 13, where he was “advised” to get involved in

>> better
>> activities than participating in protest rallies.
>>
>> “They do it to scare people so that they stop their public activity. For
>> autocratic regimes like this, intimidation is very important to manage

>> their (stronghold). It is also related to me being very active during
>> Eurovision,” said Adilov.
>>
>> Ehsan Zahidov, spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said the
>> recent slew of interrogations against activists and journalists has

>> nothing
>> to do with their activity during the Eurovision song contest or their
>> political background but pertained to them violating “rules”.
>>
>> “To advise people (on how to behave) is part of the job of police

>> officers. They do not care about the political activity of citizens.
>> Natig
>> Adilov was just advised not to violate public order. That is it,” he told
>> IPS.
>>
>> For Arzu Abdullayeva, human rights defender and co-chair of the Helsinki

>> Citizens Assembly, recent pressure on journalists is not limited to
>> Eurovision activity.
>>
>> “Activists have always been a threat to the Azerbaijani government. By
>> (putting) pressure on activists, journalists, by arresting them, the

>> government (lets potential dissidents) know that they will have the same
>> future.”
>>
>> Human rights organisations like Amnesty International and Human Rights
>> Watch condemned the accusation against Huseynov.

>>
>> The authorities should “drop the bogus charges against Huseynov and
>> ensure
>> that he can exercise his right to freedom of expression”, Human Rights
>> Watch said in its recent report.

>>
>> Amnesty International’s statement mentions that Huseynov’s arrest comes
>> amid a worrying rise in police harassment of young activists who
>> participated in protests around Eurovision.

>>
>> According to Max Tucker, Amnesty International’s Azerbaijan campaigner,
>> Mehman’s arrest signals the start of the widely predicted government
>> crackdown on those they consider responsible for negative publicity

>> during
>> Eurovision.
>>
>> (END)
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Media Education Center
> Yerevan, Armenia
>
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>

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